The Mid-Indian Ridge is a continuance of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. It separates the African and Indo-Australian Plate. The Owen Fracture Zone marks the northern end of the CIR, separating Arabian and Indo-Australian Plates.

It divides into 2 branches near the Rodrigues Island, with one branch moving towards the Gulf of Aden, and the other moving towards Macquarie Islands. The ridge shown in the photo is the former, called Carlsberg Ridge.